Related Articles

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are not only caused by fuel consumption, they are also a byproduct of petroleum production at oil and gas fields, adding to the global greenhouse problem.

Now a $1 million study at Adelaide's National Centre For Petroleum Geology & Geophysics (NCPGG) is investigating ways of removing those emissions by injecting the CO2 back into the ground where it came from.

The work puts Adelaide University at the international forefront of greenhouse research. It is hailed as one of the most practical, environmentally sustainable and economically feasible solutions to the world wide greenhouse gas problem.

"This technology has the potential to make a substantial difference to global greenhouse emissions," says the coordinator of the project in Adelaide, Dr Simon Lang (Associate Professor, NCPGG).

"Greenhouse gas emissions are expected to lead to global warming of between 2-4 degrees Celsius on average over the next century. Even if we make major reductions to emissions, global warming will still occur but at a lesser rate. Finding solutions to reduce the emissions is vital if we are to avoid potentially destructive climate change," he says.

Technology for removing huge quantities of emissions in "CO2 sinks", as they're called, is currently being developed and trialled in Norway. However, Dr Lang says Australia is leading the way in this research.

"We're investigating the means by which this can be done safely and in sufficient quantities to dwarf other available methods. This may prove to be one of the only ways of reducing emissions at a great enough rate."

The outcomes, if successful, would complement other methods of greenhouse gas reduction, such as tree planting, improved energy efficiencies, reduction in the use of coal as an energy source, and shifting to new gas and fuel cell technologies.

"The idea is to find places where we could store hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 injected at high rates for many years, and it appears that Australia has several sites where this may be feasible both technically and economically," Dr Lang says.

The research program is funded by the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre with substantial industry support. The project also has international research links with key players in the US, the UK and Europe.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Adelaide University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Mar. 2, 2015 — Hungry, plant-eating insects may limit the ability of forests to take up elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, reducing their capacity to slow human-driven climate change, a new study ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — Scientists are reporting advances on how to one day make solar cells stronger, lighter, more flexible and less expensive when compared with the current silicon or germanium technology on the ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — Researchers have characterized the gut microbiome of honey bee queens. This is the first thorough census of the gut microbiome -- which consists of all the microorganisms that live in the gut of the ... full story

Mar. 2, 2015 — An international team of researchers has demonstrated a way to assess the quality of water on Earth from space by using satellite technology that can visualize pollution levels otherwise invisible to ... full story

Mar. 1, 2015 — A study of how climate change has affected emperor penguins over the last 30,000 years found that only three populations may have survived during the last ice age, and that the Ross Sea in Antarctica ... full story

Feb. 27, 2015 — In a series of three studies, researchers tested whether there is a link between personality and an aspect of physical ecology: flat terrain versus mountainous terrain. The study found that only one ... full story

Featured Videos

Solar Plane Passes New Test Ahead of World Tour

AFP (Mar. 2, 2015) — A solar-powered plane made a third successful test flight in the United Arab Emirates on Monday ahead of a planned round-the-world tour to promote alternative energy. Duration: 01:05
Video provided by AFP

Aug. 3, 2011 — Carbon dioxide remains the undisputed king of recent climate change, but other greenhouse gases measurably contribute to the problem. A new study shows that cutting emissions of those other gases ... full story

Apr. 20, 2011 — New technology that combines production of electricity with capture of carbon dioxide could make billions of barrels of oil shale -- now regarded as off-limits because of the huge amounts of carbon ... full story

Jan. 7, 2011 — Insects produce much smaller quantities of greenhouse gases per kilogram of meat than cattle and pigs. Insect meat could therefore form an alternative to more conventional types of ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.